Today ol_Dut gives the X-Menís resident ninja the Super Karate Monkey Death Punch. Click on Full Story to see who survives!

ol_Dut

05/16/2011, 02:34

Psylockeís history is even more of a mess than Archangelís, so why bother? Suffice it to say that the mind of Betsy Braddock, Captian Britianís sister, was switched Gilliganís Island style into the body of this smokiní hot Asian ninja. Chaos and other mind-bending events ensued, and letís just leave it at that. Without damaging our brains any further, letís take a look at the dials.

Attack - Psycho Blast: Psylocke can use Penetrating/Psychic Blast as if she had a range of 6

Damage - Psychic Knife: Psylocke can use Blades/Claws/Fangs and Exploit Weakness. When she rolls a D6 for Blades/Claws/Fangs, on a result of 1 or 2, give her target an action token in addition to the normal effects.

LE #101 Psyclockís Gains vs. #023 Psylocke
For starters, the LE gains the Warrior keyword, and a stubby range of 6. While it is better than her counterpartís big olí doughnut, sheís not exactly going to be lighting up the board with that. Still, an improvement is an improvement no matter how small.

On the speed track we start to see some more meaningful changes. The LE opens with four clicks of the Subtle Manipulation special power which grants Stealth and Mind Control. Stealth not being what it once was and Mind Control being what it ever was, she still has the potential to bend others to her will from up close and personal behind the gumball machine.

Several new powers show up on LE Psylockeís dial. She opens with two clicks of Blades/Claws/Fangs which gives her the potential to do damage well beyond her printed damage value. Two mid-dial clicks of Incapacitate allow her to bog her enemies down in action tokens, but by the last two clicks of her dial, the far more exciting Psychic Blast makes an appearance.

Defense and Damage both exhibit minor improvement. Betsy adds two clicks of the highly unreliable Super Senses in the mix, and also adds two clicks of everyoneís favorite, Outwit. Numerically, itís also worth pointing out that the LE has noting but twoís for damage.

LE Psylockeís Losses vs. #023 Psylocke
The LE comes in weighing five points less than her booster pack doppelganger, but to do that you know some things must be jettisoned. Letís start with the excised keywords of Excalibur, Martial Artist, The Hand, and X-Club. I hate to mention it, but Iíve always had a problem with X-Club. I know Marvel has to have X-everything, but X-Babies were ridiculous and X-Club is just effing lame. I donít care whoís responsible, Iím blaming Joey Q. and Chris Claremont. It makes me feel better. Getting back on target, she also drops a click of life, which is usually a bad deal, but itís early so letís see how it turns out.

On the speed front, the only loss to speak of is that of dropping four clicks of Leap Climb, but the attack track has a bigger story to tell. Gone is the 11 attack, one ten attack and a nine attack. Gone as well is the Psycho Blast special power which gave the Uncommon Psy an effective six range Psychic Blast for three clicks Ė one click better than what the Le sees.

Defensively Psylocke pays a price as well. She never sees a 17 defense, and at her worst she dips down to 15, which is never fun to see. She also drops four clicks of Combat Reflexes. And on the damage front, she never gets up to a three damage, and lets all three clicks of Psychic Knife slide right through her fingers.

If ol_Dut had to Choose?
When looking at these two figures you have to ask yourself, how much is 6 range Mind Control worth? This question is critical due to the fact that it is the gimmick on which the LE is based. On the whole, while these figures are similar, it is the differences that will force them to be used in completely different manners. LE Psylocke is set up to be a harasser of sorts. At 69 points, sheís an excellent ride-along for a primary attacking flyer. Stealth may provide cover, or it may not, but anyone who approaches her could end up dealing with BCF on the blunt end or Mind Control on the subtle and crafty end. The Incap doesnít do much for me, but as an X-Man she can give or take a click to either get back to the BCF clicks or down to the PB clicks if needed, or she can just keep plugging away with Mind Control. But thatís the key. For the top two clicks, most will likely see BCF as the option of choice. At the bottom, PB is the only option, and in the middle Mind Control is perhaps the best the choice. In the end, sheís trying to be a jack-of-all-trades figure and fill all kinds of different roles in just six clicks of life. But itís the Mind Control that really defines her. So again, the question is how much is 6 range Mind Control worth?

While soaking on that, letís take a look at Uncommon Psylocke. Here again we see that triple pronged approach to dial design. She starts with TK to put her pals into position, flips to close combat thanks to Psychic Knife, and then flops over to being a ranged attacker with Psycho Blast. And while BCF may be dangled out there, thatís not really her bag. Donít fall for it. After that starting click, #023 Psylocke is all about penetrating damage. Sometimes itís close combat, sometimes itís ranged, but itís always going straight through. Unless, of course, if she opts for the BCF with the potential for Incap otption of that special power. While that sounds fun, Iíd skip it. Two damage with EW is as good as rolling a four on Blades, and although that could be neat if a four, five or six shows up, itís hard to fly in the face of predicable, penetrating damage. Now some may criticize her damage values. They may say theyíre too low. Iíd say that while her damage values by themselves may not seem like much, we have to take into consideration that for the most part, her attack values are extremely good for a figure at her point cost and due to the tandem of special powers, what damage there is will stick. Top of dial, those 17 Dís with Combat Reflexes become a very comforting 19. When she gets to the end of her dial, she can use Leap to create some space and Psychic Blast away. While the 16 CR wonít help her much at a distance, it will save her bacon if someone tries to base her to shut PB downÖuntil she Leaps away to shoot again.

So here we are and itís all boiling down to that Mind Control thing. Would you rather have Mind Control or penetrating damage? Mind Control or penetrating damage? Mind Control or penetrating? The more you ask the question, the more obvious the answer becomes. Now, I like Mind Control. Iíve had hours of nearly limitless fun and amusement with Mister Mind working his magic and making various opposing teammates tear each other a new one. But when Iím banking on Mind Control I usually like to see a bigger range; at least eight and preferable 10. Why? Because I want to be able to actually have some targets, and I want to stay out of range of retaliation since thereís a chance Iíll be eating clicks just for using the power, so why risk losing more by being too close to the action? And thatís where sheís at. Sheís got a bit of damage dealing potential, but a whole lot of up close and personal Mind Control. Fiddling with people brains from six squares away, you can bet Betsyís going to take some shots.

And that is why Uncommon Psylocke wins. After that sort of misfit first click, sheís all about hurting people, just like any good ninja should be, with predictable, penetrating damage. Considering all of the overlap in keywords, Uncommon Psy can fit on all of the X-Teams that the LE can, plus a few more besides, giving her a team building edge as well. Leave the Mind Controlling to the likes of Emma and Chuck. When thereís some killing to be done and you need some ninja chick to do it, call on Uncommon Psylocke.

Thatís all for this week. Next week weíll have the end of GSX LEís! Thanks for reading.

invisibo

05/16/2011, 02:38

Unless you're just dying for a psylocke to run on a warrior theme team, there's no way to ever justify running her.

zero214x

05/16/2011, 03:04

But your forgeting with the uncommon you can have your cake and eat it to and use both exploit weakness and blades/claws/fangs

mattfromwaldorf

05/16/2011, 03:25

zero214x beat me to it but I looked it up to make sure I hadn't missed something in the new rules:

Blades/Claws/Fangs: When this character is given a close combat action, you may roll a d6 after making a successful attack roll. The result replaces this characters damage value, then that damage value is locked.

Exploit Weakness: Give this character a close combat action. Damage from the attack is penetrating damage.

BCF itself isn't a close combat action but simply gives you the option to roll the d6 when you take one.

Thus, Psychic Knife becomes much much better allowing for her to swing for big damage on those bricks and still come away with something (an action token) if the die isn't generous to her. :)

Uncommon Betsy is a fearsome figure and I always dread having to get in her face.

jak7890

05/16/2011, 04:51

To me it almost feels like the only reason they bothered with making dear Betsy an LE was to provide an option for a current Uncanny X-Force team (minus Phantomex, of course) at 400pts.

with the change to tk, the uncommon version isn't as lethal as before IMO. nothin beats the uncommons sp up close though. i do like the le's sp too. mind control is huge in this set because there are so many figs under 100 pts. i'm a lover of mind control. i'll end up reaching for both. they fit different roles, but i might be inclines for the uncommon more. tk is golden even more now then it was before.

theavengerthor

05/16/2011, 09:14

With the LE being in her X-Force duds, I would have left that particular keyword off of the uncommon version. However, since she sports all the same keywords except Warrior, there is almost never a reason to chose the LE over the Uncommon.

And yeah, I was thinking the same as you guys. Blades and Exploit work together. Just ask Gamora.

The Arachnid

05/16/2011, 09:29

Yup. I much prefer the Vet for Mr. Clairmont's Asian Fantasy Pin Up. Now between her and Gamora. Who else can I put on the Femme Fatale, thats just plain wrong, beat them up, Martial Arts Squad?

theavengerthor

05/16/2011, 09:32

An all female Martial Artist team? AA The Question, without a doubt.

Hesster56

05/16/2011, 09:53

X-Club is the horribly named, hilariously crotchety team of scientists that support the X-Men. Imagine a bunch of Dr. House, Dr. Cox, and mythbuster type guys. They run around throwing science at things.

ol_Dut

05/16/2011, 09:57

zero214x beat me to it but I looked it up to make sure I hadn't missed something in the new rules:

Blades/Claws/Fangs: When this character is given a close combat action, you may roll a d6 after making a successful attack roll. The result replaces this characters damage value, then that damage value is locked.

Exploit Weakness: Give this character a close combat action. Damage from the attack is penetrating damage.

BCF itself isn't a close combat action but simply gives you the option to roll the d6 when you take one.

Thus, Psychic Knife becomes much much better allowing for her to swing for big damage on those bricks and still come away with something (an action token) if the die isn't generous to her. :)

Uncommon Betsy is a fearsome figure and I always dread having to get in her face.

Yep, certainly kosher. And the VERY best way to have your cake and eat it to is to take the LE's alternate paint sculpt, and pop her onto the Uncommon's dial. So you get the best dial with the fancy new ninja suit! That way both ladies get some lovin' without you having to feel like a sucker.

Gorodish

05/16/2011, 10:18

X-Club is the horribly named, hilariously crotchety team of scientists that support the X-Men. Imagine a bunch of Dr. House, Dr. Cox, and mythbuster type guys. They run around throwing science at things.

Actually, there is a real-life historical precedent for the name 'X-Club'. In Victorian England, seven leading scientists actually formed a dinner club and consultative body named the X-Club.

Mon_ami

05/16/2011, 10:34

Great review, you really started to change my mind on using the LE, but for some reason I like the LE better. After that breakdown I. Really want to reach for the uncommon. Are you using subtle manipulation?

Thunderclese

05/16/2011, 11:25

I suppose the LE on a Warrior team with the Horseman Wolverine would have its benefits, since she could use her MC to "Brainwash" Wolvie on his end-dial to Regen or get an extra attack out of him.

mattfromwaldorf

05/16/2011, 11:49

Yup. I much prefer the Vet for Mr. Clairmont's Asian Fantasy Pin Up. Now between her and Gamora. Who else can I put on the Femme Fatale, thats just plain wrong, beat them up, Martial Arts Squad?

The ones I listed on top are more of your cold-blooded assassin types, which I figured was the route you wanted to go. Black Widow may be the tamest of those ladies up there.

You could also include just about any female figure from the Indy set. :)

The Arachnid

05/16/2011, 12:09

Great review, you really started to change my mind on using the LE, but for some reason I like the LE better. After that breakdown I. Really want to reach for the uncommon. Are you using subtle manipulation?

Pst. Its not subtle if you bring it up. :grin:

The7ofDiamonds

05/16/2011, 14:38

While I will also take the uncommon most times, of note is how well the LE's dial works on X-Men teams because of the click trading. The LE has a couple different uses down the dial, so to be able to get to outwit or incapacitate when needed is something that works well if you choose to get there by healing another teammate.

I used her with WoS Wolverine with the X-Force ATA on both in a casual match and the team worked out well.

Darknesspwns

05/16/2011, 16:55

but you missed that the LE psylocke is black! instead of blue.... no one really can tell the difference between the 2 i agree with you on the uncommon, why because x-force has well pretty much all up close and personal fighters with blades and stealth the one thing they needed was a way to get in there and psy with her Tk was a fantastic fit.

Vwllss

05/16/2011, 21:40

I'd never roll for the B/C/F on the first click she has it, but the thing is that Psylocke is well worth pushing to her third click, and that's when it can really pay off with that 11 attack. Maybe I'm just lucky, but anytime I put her on the board, she lays waste to pieces that cost at least twice as much as she does. Easily one of my favorite pieces in the set.

She and Rogue have serious gamebreaking potential, but I have yet to try it.

BANZAI

05/17/2011, 06:00

I used the uncommon Psylocke in a game the other week and she single-handedly trashed the Thing and Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four starter set and never took a hit. Once she was on that 2nd click she was deadly.

Heretic

05/18/2011, 07:42

But your forgeting with the uncommon you can have your cake and eat it to and use both exploit weakness and blades/claws/fangs

BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS When this character is given a close combat action, you may roll a d6 after making a successful attack roll. The result replaces this characterís damage value, then that damage value is locked.EXPLOIT WEAKNESS Give this character a close combat action. Damage from the attack is penetrating damage.You cannot do two actions unless the special power specifically allows it and this one does not so you cannot use the two together.

BLACKHEART25

05/18/2011, 08:36

You cannot do two actions unless the special power specifically allows it and this one does not so you cannot use the two together.

The two powers work together Heretic. Read the powers you quoted carefully.

EXPLOIT WEAKNESS Give this character a close combat action. Damage from the attack is penetrating damage.

You're giving the character a close combat action here that only allows the character to deal penetrating damage.

BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS When this character is given a close combat action, you may roll a d6 after making a successful attack roll. The result replaces this characterís damage value, then that damage value is locked.

This is adding something already to your close combat action from the exploit weakness. Its not asking you to give this character a close combat action, its telling you that if you're using a close combat action you can do this.......Are you giving a character a close combat action with exploit weakness?.....Yes. Now, once you give the close combat action you may also roll d6 if your attack is successful to replace your damage value.

Its not using 2 different actions. Its adding on to 1 action already in progress.